Top Java books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Java books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Java

Understanding the concepts of Java starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Head First Object-Oriented Analysis and Design: A Brain Friendly Guide to OOA&D

Head First Object-Oriented Analysis & Design shows you how to analyze, design, and write serious object-oriented software: software that's easy to reuse, maintain, and extend; software that doesn't hurt your head; software that lets you add new features without breaking the old ones.

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Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code

Refactoring is about improving the design of existing code. It is the process of changing a software system in such a way that it does not alter the external behavior of the code, yet improves its internal structure. With refactoring you can even take a bad design and rework it into a good one.

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Thinking in Java

Thinking in Java (ISBN 978-0131872486) is a book about the Java programming language, written by Bruce Eckel and first published in 1998. Prentice Hall published the 4th edition of the work in 2006. The book represents a print version of Eckel's “Hands-on Java” seminar.

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Head First Java

Learning a complex new language is no easy task especially when it s an object-oriented computer programming language like Java. You might think the problem is your brain. It seems to have a mind of its own, a mind that doesn't always want to take in the dry, technical stuff you're forced to study.

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Java generics and collections

The Java Generics programming is introduced in J2SE 5 to deal with type-safe objects. It makes the code stable by detecting the bugs at compile time. Before generics, we can store any type of objects in the collection, i.e., non-generic. Now generics force the java programmer to store a specific type of objects.

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Core Java

For serious programmers, Core Java, Volume I―Fundamentals, Eleventh Edition, is the definitive guide to writing robust, maintainable code. Whether you’re using Java SE 9, 10, or 11, it will help you achieve a deep and practical understanding of the language and API, and its hundreds of realistic examples reveal the most powerful and effective ways to get the job done.

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Additional Java Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Java, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Java Performance

Coding and testing are often considered separate areas of expertise. In this comprehensive guide, author and Java expert Scott Oaks takes the approach that anyone who works with Java should be equally adept at understanding how code behaves in the JVM, as well as the tunings likely to help its performance.

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Test Driven: TDD for Java Developers

In test driven development, you first write an executable test of what your application code must do. Only then do you write the code itself and, with the test spurring you on, you improve your design.

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Java Concurrency in Practice

Java Concurrency in Practice provides you with the concepts and techniques needed to write safe and scalable Java programs for today's--and tomorrow's--systems." "This is the book you need if you're writing--or designing, or debugging, or maintaining, or contemplating--multithreaded Java programs.

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Core Java, Volume I--Fundamentals

This first of two volumes offers in-depth coverage of fundamental Java programming, including object-oriented programming, generics, collections, lambda expressions, concurrency, and functional programming. Classic material for Swing UI programming is included for those who need it.

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Core Java Cay S. Horstmann

With hundreds of realistic examples, Cay S. Horstmann reveals the most powerful and effective ways to get the job done. This book is written for readers with prior programming experience who are looking for in-depth coverage of the Java language and platform.

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Java For Dummies

The book starts with an overview of computer programming and builds from there; it explains the software you need, walks you through writing your own programs, and introduces you to a few of the more-complex aspects of programming in Java.

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This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

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